The True Meaning of Sacrifice
by VyeLoyomBrightwarrior
Summary: Bae is willing to die to tell Emma about the witch. However, Rumpelstiltskin can't let that happen. So, he changes places with his son.
1. Back to the Vault

**This is an idea that just came to me, and I just had to write it. Reviews are greatly appreciated, even if all you say is good job of bad job. I hope you like it.**

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Bae had forced them apart, and now he lay dying on the ground. All that just to warn Emma. Rumpelstiltskin can't let him die, he just can't. Everything he had ever done had been for Bae and he can't bear the thought of losing him. He bends over his boy and begins muttering the spell he had learned long ago. He knows it will mean going back there, but he also knows that if he doesn't do this Bae will go there. He can't bear that thought.

"What are you doing?" Emma questions him. She obviously heard him mutter his and Bae's names as he does the spell. If she was as good a wizard as he thought she was, she might even feel the power of this spell. He doesn't answer her though. He just completes the spell. Pain shoots through him, especially from his hand. He looks down to see the mark of the vault pressed into his hand like it once had for Bae.

"Papa!" Bae cries worriedly as he falls. They had now switched positions with Baelfire leaning over him. He sees his son wince slightly even as his magic tells him the price for this spell.

"I'm sorry, Bae," he says. He hadn't meant for Bae to get hurt like that when he had traded spots with him. This is now something Bae will have to live with for the rest of his life, but at least he will have a life. "I love you," he muttered.

"I love you, too," Bae says, tears streaming down his face as Emma watches on. He wants to reach up and wipe the tears from his son's eyes. He wants to tell him not to worry about him and to go on with his life. But it is too late, the darkness is already claiming him again. At least he has told his son he loves him. Those are pretty good last words, he thinks as the darkness takes him.

"Back so soon?" one of them asks. Rumpelstiltskin looks over at the man, trying to fight off the crippling fear that is running through him. "Good. We all missed our little toy." He feels someone touch the back of his neck, freezing him in place. They all start to surround him. He knows what's coming; what they are going to do. He only just stops himself from begging for mercy.

"Where's the person who let you out?" one of them questions, obviously curious.

"I traded spots with him," he informs them, knowing they would make him tell eventually anyways. "He didn't belong here; he was never a dark one."

"But you were," a dark one states. If he wasn't so terrified, he would probably think that the fact that there were several dark ones was humorous. "And yet, you refuse to be completely dark."

"We don't tolerate that," another one joins in. He knows what that means. They are going to start up again.

"Please," he begs, no longer able to stop himself. "Please don't." All that does is cause the others to laugh cruelly. He doesn't think it's fair that these people will spend all eternity punishing him for the good inside him. Not that he had ever expected any sort of afterlife to be pleasant for him. He is a creature of darkness, and he expected to be punished for it. But now he's being punished for not being dark enough, and it just doesn't seem right. Then again, nothing about his curse is right.

They start blasting him with darkness and he screams in agony. He knows he should have the power they do. He should be able to wield darkness against them. But his darkness won't respond, and he knows why. There is still good in him. The darkness won't listen to him until he is completely dark, devoid of even a flicker of light. And so he tries to push the light away, to snuff it out. He should be able to, it should be his choice. But somehow, he can't. He knows why. The only way to get rid of the light is to get rid of all his memories of the people who brought him light. He get can't bring himself to spend all eternity without even the memory of Belle and Bae. So instead, he will spend all eternity barely clinging to their memories as evil magic bombards him, trying to force him to give them up.

He sobs as the darkness cuts through him, causing him more pain than he's ever experienced. He wishes it would stop, but he knows he is the only one who can determine that. And unlike most of the fools he dealt with in life, he won't do anything to get what he wants. He knows it makes him weak, but no matter how hard he tries he just can't let Bae and Belle go. The darkness starts targeting his chest, or more specifically, his heart. When it bombards the tiny bit of light inside of him, it hurts so much he can't even scream. His whole body convulses, but he hardly notices. The darkness is pushing on the light, trying to destroy it. He wants it to, because once the light is gone, the pain will be gone too. No, wait. That's not right. Once the light is gone, the physical pain will cease, but it will be replaced by something much worse. He is already alone and unloved here in the vault, but if the light leaves so will his memories of once being loved. If the light leaves, he will have nothing. He had once said that without his son, he would truly be dust. That is what he is now, dust. But if the light leaves, he will be something worse; he will be nothing.

So he fights. Before, he had been trying to decide whether to keep the light or not. Now he knows he can't survive without it. Well, not survive exactly; he's already dead. He can't spend the rest of eternity without it. So now, instead of letting the darkness cut through him and surround the light, he fights back. He would fight back with the darkness itself, but he can't. It won't respond to him. So he uses what he has rarely ever used, what the darkness is most afraid of. He uses the light.

At first he thinks it's a mistake. The minute he starts trying to fight the pain intensifies. He didn't even think that was possible. The pain is paralyzing, and his body screams at him, telling him to just give in already. But the one thing he has always been is persistent. The man who spent three hundred years looking for his son is more than ready to spend all of eternity trying to keep memories of the boy. No, of the man. His brave Baelfire is all grown up now, and he is so proud of him. He would do anything for Bae, and somehow he knows his son would want him to fight back. His son has always wanted him to be good, and now he's trying. He's doing this for Bae. The darkness gives. It's very slight, so slight that he's not even sure if the others notice it. But it gives.

The other dark ones may not have noticed, but he can tell the darkness has. Even more pain comes over him, making him think he can't do this. He can't handle this pain. He has always been a coward, always searched for the easy way out. Giving in seems like the best idea he's ever had. That's when he sees her face. Belle has always been his strength. Here she is now, or at least, her memory is here. It's enough; it has to be. She would want this, too. She had always been able to see the good in him. She wouldn't want him to lose it. Thoughts of Belle and Bae swirl through his head and the darkness gives again. This time, the others can't help but notice. Now they are giving everything they have so they can destroy the light. He keeps fighting, thinking of all his friends, even the Charmings. This helps him push the darkness to the very edge of his being.

That's when his advances stopped. He can feel the smugness of the darkness, and he knows why it won't leave. He isn't letting it. He has lived so long with the darkness, with the power, that he can't bring himself to let it go. He fears that if he does, he will go back to being that cowardly spinner whom everyone picks on. But really, that doesn't matter. As long as he chooses light over darkness, he will be that here. They won't stop torturing him until he gives. Or, until he makes them stop. There are only two ways that he can spend the eternity without this crushing pain. He must either give up the light, or give up the darkness. He has already shown that he can't give up the light. Even as the dark one, one of the most evil creatures ever to live, he still managed to find light. So now, he must give up the darkness. Memories of Bae and Belle give him the extra incentive he needs, and he gives one last effort. Pain flares through his entire body before everything starts to go black. He isn't sure what happened. Did he win? Did the darkness consume him? Was the pain finally too much? Before he can find out, everything goes completely black.


	2. Regrets

**I am so sorry. I'm posting this much later than I originally intended. I got really busy with band camp and just didn't have time to post. But I finally got it done, so here's the chapter! I hope you enjoy!**

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He opens his eyes slowly, timidly. He's sure that the other dark ones will be looming over him, ready to continue causing him pain. He cringes when he sees the several men surrounding him. He ducks his head instinctively, trying to make himself as small a target as possible. Nothing happens. They don't even say anything. Curiosity gets the better of him and he looks up. He laughs aloud in relief when he sees the mirrors. He had been frightened by his own reflections.

He moves to his feet, wincing as he puts a little too much pressure on his right leg. A quick look around shows that he is in a room the holds only mirrors and a torch or two. There is no way in or out. He frowns as he recognizes this place. Not that he's ever been here. He just remembers the description of this place. This is where the victims of the sleeping curse end up. He is in the Netherworld; the world between life and death. But that should not be possible. Being in the dark one vault meant you had died, didn't it? Besides, the only way to get to the Netherworld is by being put under a sleeping curse. There is no way he could have gotten here from the dark one vault.

He looks around, trying to see if there might be a chip in the illusion. Because he is sure that's what this is. The others must be trying to get his hopes up; make him think he is safe from them. And right when he least expects it, they will jump out at him and continue their assault. Well, he is not going to let them catch him unaware. In fact, maybe he can use this to his advantage. He can lure them into thinking he has no clue what's going on, and when they attack him he will be ready. That way, he can catch them off guard, though he knows that will do little good. There are too many of them for him to stand a chance against him. But fighting back is better than doing nothing.

He casually walks over to one of the mirrors and peers at it closer, still trying to find a hole in the illusion. He is shocked by what he sees. "Don't break our deal!" Bae screams at him, the swirling green vortex waiting to suck him in.

"I have too," the dark one replies, letting go. Rumpelstiltskin steps back in horror, averting his gaze. That doesn't stop him from hearing his own frantic screams as he apologizes to the boy who is no longer there. That's when he remembers: people in the sleeping curse are forced to relive their greatest regrets. They are being really elaborate in this con. Or maybe they are trying to break him with his own memories. It makes sense to use the thing he's holding onto so tightly against him.

"What's happening?" he hears himself ask. He glances at the mirror it came from and then instantly wishes he hadn't. Because it's Belle and him, sitting by his spinning wheel.

"Kiss me again, it's working," she tells him excitedly. He moans and squeezes his eyes shut before clamping his hands over his ears. That doesn't seems to help. He manages to hear every word up to his line "No one, no one, could ever love me!" Then another memory replaces this. It's one of the deals where he kills someone. Memory after horrible memory replays before him, and soon he is huddled on the ground, sobbing. He vaguely wonders what this was like for Snow, Charming, and Henry. He gets the feeling that it wasn't quite as bad for them.

He's starting to have trouble. He tries to hold on to the good memories he had with Bae and Belle, but somehow him breaking his own leg to get back to Bae takes control. The tears roll down his cheeks. "Make it stop!" he cries. "Go back to torturing me! Anything but this!" he begs, still convinced that the other dark ones are behind all of this. And when the memories stop suddenly, he opens his eyes. His suspicions are confirmed when he sees the large group of people surrounding him. He curls up in a ball in a futile attempt to hide. He is aware that this is not very intimidating and that the others will give him no mercy, but he can't bring himself to uncurl. He waits for the assault to start, but he doesn't have to wait long. Soon a hand touches the back of his neck and he freezes in place, not even trembling like he was before. So he braces himself for the pain that will follow only a split second later.

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Bae sighs as he sits in front of the TV pretending to watch whatever show happens to be on at the moment. He has been sitting here for hours, hating the fact that he is useless now. He knows it's his own fault, but that doesn't stop him from thinking that it's unfair. He had wanted to help defeat the wicked witch, wanted to avenge his father's death, but he didn't get the chance. He is too weak to fight witches now. He's too weak to do anything other than pretend to watch television.

"I knew it," a voice startles him out of his thoughts. He turns to see Belle standing over him, holding the TV remote. He just stares at her. "You didn't even notice when I turned the TV off," she remarks. Startled, Bae looks over at the machine. Sure enough, it has been turned off. "It's been a week since everyone got their memories of the missing year back and the witch was defeated," Belle informs him as if he doesn't know. "It's time to stop hiding out and go back into the world."

"The world doesn't want to see me; not like this," he responds. He is startled when he sees anger flash in her eyes.

"I'm starting to think you care more about the price you had to pay than the fact that your father's gone," she states. He feels a wave of guilt. She's right; all he has done since the day his father died the second time is bemoan the price he has to pay. He hasn't spared a thought for how Belle must feel, having lost her true love. He realizes that there is a reason he hasn't thought on that though. He can't bear the fact that his dad is dead, so he's chosen to not think about it at all.

"I'm sorry, Belle," he manages to say quietly. He feels the couch move as she sits down next to him.

"Look, I am, too," she says, her voice softer now. "I know you really do miss him. It's just, I do too." And then she is crying, shaking beside him. He wraps his arm around her, silently cursing himself. Belle has been his comforter, his rock, ever since he lost his dad once and for all. She's taken care of him and she's been helping him learn to live with his new disability. But never once has he helped her. She has had to be the strong one, and now it's finally been too much for her.

After a while she stops crying. She shifts so she can look at him. "Maybe we can postpone going out into the world until tomorrow," she states. He nods his head in agreement.

"I'll go make some tea," he says, realizing it will help calm Belle down. Plus, he knows it's time to start doing things for Belle like she has done for him.

"It's alright," she says, moving to get up. "I can do it."

"I want to do this," he tells her, making her stop moving. They both know that this is the first thing Bae has done voluntarily since his dad's death. Belle nods, reminding him to call for her if he needs help. He agrees to that before he makes his way into the kitchen with his now ever-present limp. He gathers all the things he needs before leaning his father's cane on the counter so he can use both his hands. After all, he's not left-handed, and he's not used to making tea. He will need his dominant hand for this.

He's almost done with the tea when Belle comes into the kitchen, holding her cell phone. Someone must have called her. "It looks like we will have to venture out into the world today after all," she tells him. "Charming is coming to pick us up. Apparently, they need us at the hospital."

"Why would they need us?" he asks, confused. For one thing, there should be no evil wizard threatening the town. For another, people rarely call on Belle for help, despite the fact that she could help a great deal. And lastly, he won't be much help with anything because of his crippled right leg.

"They didn't say," Belle remarked. "But it sounds urgent." Bae doesn't want to leave the house. He doesn't want to see the pity looks people will give him, and he especially doesn't want Emma to see him like this. But he has just started trying to help Belle, so he can't let her go alone.

"When will he be here?" Bae questions. The fact that they are sending someone to pick them up makes him angry. He knows it's just because of his bad leg. That and the fact that Belle has never really learned to drive. Before Belle can respond, the doorbell rings.

"That was fast," Belle remarks as the two of them make their way to the door. Each step brings them closer to the world, and he starts to feel overwhelmed. He stops just three steps away from the door. Belle notices immediately. "It's okay," she tells him as she comes to stand right in front of him. "We can do this. Just a quick trip to do what's needed of us, and then we'll come right back here." He nods. That doesn't sound too bad.

"You guys in there!" Charming yells from outside. Instead of responding, Belle simply goes and opens the door. "Oh," Charming says, sounding slightly embarrassed.

"Hello David," Belle greets as Bae steps into place next to her. "Do you happen to know what is going on at the hospital?"

"No," he admits. "Snow just called me and told me to come get you guys, so I did."

"Well, thank you," Belle replies as the three of them starts heading over to David's car. The ride in David's cramped truck is both too long and too short. Bae is aware of the fact that David and Belle are talking to each other, but he doesn't listen to them. He just can't stop worrying about what Emma will think of him now that he has a bad leg. She probably likes Hook better than him now. After all, Hook can still fight and do things. He can't.

When they get to the hospital, they find a room full of people. Whale, Ruby, Regina, Snow, the baby, the dwarves, Hook, Henry, and Emma are all standing and looking at some patient in the bed that Bae can't see from this position. "Finally," Regina says when she sees them. "It's about time you got here."

"What's going on?" Belle asks as she shifts around, trying to catch a glimpse of who is on the bed. It seems to Bae that everyone is already here. Who could possibly be lying on the bed? Then it hits him; it must be Belle's father. Why else would they call them here?"

"He's under a sleeping curse," Emma remarks. Ah, so they wanted Belle to wake up her father. But wait, how had Moe gotten a sleeping curse?

"Who might this be?" Belle asks, still oblivious.

"Isn't it obvious?" Regina questions. Belle has a look that says she still has no idea what Regina is talking about. Bae sighs, already bored. He half wishes he hadn't decided to come, but he's glad he's here for Belle. "It's Rumpelstiltskin." Bae freezes. His dad died. No one comes back from death. This isn't possible.

Belle doesn't seem to have those thoughts because she immediately pushes through to the front of the crowd. The crowd parts for him as he follows Belle. "Rumple," she gasps, and just a second later, Bae can see the patient. It is his dad. He is shocked, and then, for the first time since the day his papa died, he is happy.

"So, time for True Love's kiss, right?" Henry questions. Bae finds himself smiling over at Belle, his papa's true love. But oddly enough, she is looking at him.

"Let's do it together," she suggests. And suddenly, Bae can't imagine it any other way. The each go on opposite sides of the bed. Then, the simultaneously lean down and kiss Rumpelstiltskin's cheeks. The greatest sensation Bae has ever felt spreads through his whole body. He and Belle pull back and watch as his papa open's his eyes. Bae can sense something is wrong just a split second before his papa is curled up into a ball, shaking in fear. Belle instinctively reaches over and touches Rumpelstiltskin on the back of his neck. He tenses instantly, going completely rigid. He isn't even shaking anymore, that's how frightened he is. 'Oh Papa,' Bae thinks, 'what did that wicked witch do to you?'

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**The idea for the Dark One Vault being connected to the Netherworld came from ZizhunWriter. ZizhunWriter graciously allowed me to use that idea for this story.**


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